Posts tagged new york
Gordon Matta-Clark ( 1943–1978 )
Anarchy and Architecture : Anarchitecture
He studied architecture at Cornell University, but did not practice as a conventional architect; he worked on what he referred to as “Anarchitecture.” At the time of Matta-Clark’s tenure there, Cornell’s architecture program was guided in part by Colin Rowe, a preeminent architectural theorist of modernism. His vision of modernism later influenced much of Matta-Clark’s own work in its relation to modernist practice and theory. He also spent a year studying French literature at the Sorbonne in Paris and was in Paris during the student strikes of May 1968. It was in Paris that he became aware of the French deconstructionist philosophers and Guy Debord and the Situationists. These cultural and political radicals developed the concept of détournement, or “the reuse of pre-existing artistic elements in a new ensemble.” Such concepts would later inform his work. He is most famous for works that radically altered existing structures. His “building cuts” (in which, for example, a house is cut in half vertically) alter the perception of the building and its surrounding environment.
Matta-Clark used a number of media to document his work, including film, video, and photography. His work includes performance and recycling pieces, space and texture works, and his “building cuts.”Matta-Clark also used puns and other word games as a way to re-conceptualize preconditioned roles and relationships (of everything, from people to architecture). He demonstrates that the theory of entropy applies to language as well as to the physical world, and that language is not a neutral tool but a carrier for society’s values and a vehicle for ideology.
“AN ARK KIT PUNCTURE, ANARCHY TORTURE, AN ARCTIC LECTURE, AN ORCHID TEXTURE, AN ART COLLECTOR…”
In February, 1969, the “Earth Art” show, curated by Willoughby Sharp at the invitation of Tom Leavitt, was realized at Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Matta-Clark, who lived in Ithaca at the time, was invited by Willoughby Sharp to help the artists in “Earth Art” with the on-site execution of their works for the exhibition. Sharp then encouraged Gordon Matta-Clark to move to New York City where Sharp continued to introduce him to members of the New York art world. Matta-Clark’s work, Museum, at Klaus Kertess’ Bykert Gallery, was listed and illustrated on pages 4–5 of Avalanche 1, Fall 1970.
In the early 1970s as part of the Anarchitecture group, Matta-Clark was interested in the idea of entropy, metamorphic gaps, and leftover/ambiguous space. Fake Estates was a project engaged with the issue of land ownership and the myth of the American dream - that everyone could become “landed gentry” by owning property. Matta-Clark “buys” into this dream by purchasing 15 leftover and unwanted properties in Manhattan for $25–$75 a plot. Ironically, these “estates” were unusable or inaccessible for development, and so his ability to capitalize on the land, and thus his ownership of them, existed virtually only on paper.In 1971 Matta-Clark cofounded Food, in SoHo, New York, with Carol Goodden, a restaurant managed and staffed by artists. The restaurant turned dining into an event with an open kitchen and exotic ingredients that celebrated cooking. The activities at Food helped delineate how the art community defined itself in downtown Manhattan.The first of its kind in SoHo, Food became well known among artists and was a central meeting-place for groups such as the Philip Glass Ensemble, Mabou Mines, and the dancers of Grand Union. He ran Food until 1973.In 1974, he performed a literal deconstruction, by removing the facade of a condemned house along the Love Canal, and moving the resulting walls to Artpark, in his work Bingo.For the Biennale de Paris in 1975, he made the piece titled Conical Intersect by cutting a large cone-shaped hole through two townhouses dating from the 17th century in the market district known as Les Halles which were to be knocked down in order to construct the then-controversial Centre Georges Pompidou.
The Gordon Matta-Clark Archives is housed at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal.
The Low-Line: An Underground Park For New York City’s Lower East Side!
Architect: James Ramsey, RAAD Studio, Dan Barasch of tech think tank PopTech
Site: New York City
When it opened in 2009, New York City’s High Line, an elevated train track that was converted into a park, instantly became one of the most celebrated modern parks in the world. So it should come as little surprise that New Yorkers are looking to tap the concept and the energy of the High Line in other new urban parks. A group of NYC entrepreneurs have come up with a plan to convert another abandoned rail line into a park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The difference: The proposed park will be located entirely underground. A group that includes Dan Barasch from PopTech, money manager R. Boykin Curry IV, and architect James Ramsey recently announced plans to convert a dark, dank subway track beneath Delancey Street into an inviting ‘Low Line‘ park. The proposal is not without its challenges. To stream natural light into the subterranean chamber, the group proposes to pump natural sunlight into the underground space using fiberoptic cables and mirrors.
New York City’s High Line - the now famous abandoned train-track-turned-park - has become well known around the world as a spectacular example of urban revitalization through smart design, even inspiring copycat elevated parks. Now Manhattan is considering another abandoned train track park renovation project called “The Low Line” - this time in the Lower East Side neighborhood. The catch with this new proposal is that the abandoned train station in question is entirely underground (below Delancey Street) - a subterranean challenge which would require a high-tech, innovative approach to lighting in order to facilitate plant growth and human comfort. (Anyone who has ever been inside a NYC subway station knows that a lot of work would be required to transform one of these dank dark caves into a tranquil, pastoral setting). That’s why we’re loving this ingenious proposal for the new Low Line underground park by architect James Ramsey, the principal of RAAD, in part with Dan Barasch of tech think tank PopTech, and a money manager, R. Boykin Curry IV, to pump natural sunlight into the subterranean space with fiberoptic cables and mirrors, somewhat like a solar tube or a sunlight transport device (which we’ve covered here and here on Inhabitat), allowing plants to grow and creating a serene and sunny underground urban oasis.
Sitting below Delancey Street is a vast trolley terminal that has been left abandoned for the last 60 years. The terminal once operated cars that crossed the Willamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn, looping back. The terminal measures approximately 2 acres — a vast amount of space, especially when compared to the average NYC park, which can be surveyed within seconds by the naked eye.
New York City’s Lower East Side (LES) is known as the city’s hot spot for all things cool and cutting edge. So it’s no wonder that this hip neighborhood is taking things to a whole new level – literally – with the design of a new urban park located in the heart of the downtown quarter. More than just another street level park, or even an attempt to mimic the westside’s High Line, this new and awe-inspiring park will be sited deep underground, below bustling Delancey Street. Designed by architect James Ramsey, the principal of RAAD, in part with Dan Barasch of tech think tank PopTech, and a money manager, R. Boykin Curry IV, this ingenious design dubbed “The Low-Line” is a sustainable urban outlet with an ambitious underground program focusing in on subterranean photosynthesis.
Even though the park design will be set below the street, the goal is to create a space that is far from a dark, dank and depressing destination. The ground-breaking design team is banking on a high-tech fiber optic lighting system to enable a green space that is bright, sunny and welcoming. The park will be equipped with extensive lighting units utilizing fiber optics to channel natural daylight to the depths below. Dozens of lamppost-like solar collectors will be placed on the Delancey Street to complete this task. And as a bonus, the system the designers envision will also filter out harmful ultraviolet and infrared light, but keeping the wavelengths used in photosynthesis to foster and nourish plant growth. Speaking to New York Magazine, Ramsey told reporters “We’re channeling sunlight the way they did in ancient Egyptian tombs, but in a supermodern way.”
Currently, the terminal is under the control of the MTA, but they have agreed to listen to the trio’s pitch – they have however made it clear they will not submit any funding for the construction of the park. The team will also have to present their proposal this Wednesday night to members of Community Board 3, who will give a ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to the introduction of an underground park in the neighborhood.
inhabitat
Fire Island Pines Pavilion by HWKN
Architects: HWKN
Project: Fire Island Pines Pavilion
Location: Fire Island Pines, Fire Island, New York
Owner: FIP Ventures
Developer: Blesso Properties
Architecture Principals: Matthias Hollwich + Marc Kushner
Architecture Team: Tim Aarsen, Jamie Abrego, Egbert Chu, Agnieszka Wojciechowicz, Clare Reidy, Gregory Nakata, Mark Paz
Expected Completion: Spring 2013
Due to a devastating fire last November, New York architects HWKN (Hollwich Kushner) have been commissioned by FIP Ventures to redesign and rebuild the legendary Pavilion dance club of Fire Island Pines. Located just four miles off the coast of Long Island, the popular gay resort welcomes over 800,000 summer visitor each year. The wooden pavilion will be the harbor’s main attraction, welcoming visitors as they arrive by ferry with two, lively stories of outdoor terrace and a “Welcome Bar”.
“We designed the new Pavilion around the community and experiences at Fire Island,” says Matthias Hollwich, co-founder of HWKN. “The building forms intimate public spaces out of a single volume. It is carved and rutted like a piece of driftwood washed ashore by the sea.”
The dynamic facade creates a three-dimensional experience by incorporating the public boardwalk up into the building facade. Benches, wide staircases and storefronts will activate the base while an entrance, formed by a set of bleachers, will provide a viewing platform, stage, wedding chapel and extended dance floor. The ground floor “Welcome Bar”, the high-tea terrace and the Pavilion Club will all be connected by an internal loop of stairs.
Although the FIP Ventures’ Canteen building, Pool Deck, bulkhead and boardwalk were also damaged by the fire, all repairs have been completed. Blesso and Charles Renfro of Diller Scofidio + Renfro are currently leading the overhaul of the master plan in order to reevaluate all of the surrounding real estate. Construction on the HWKN-designed Pavilion will begin in June and expected for completion in the Spring of 2013.
archdaily.com
